This is the most vital work we can all do to care for free roaming cats: ferals, abandoned pets and strays.There is a $10 cover fee.

The Companion Animal Trust 2013 schedule of the Neighborhood Feral Cat Initiative’s free monthly feral cat Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) training workshops has started up again and continues through the Fall.

All workshop attendees learn the steps in setting up a managed cat colony including establishing good community relations, feeding, building and placing shelters, arranging vet care, safely handling feral cats, and trapping. All attendees become TNR certified and Hudson County residents gain access to low cost spay/neuter and trap rentals. "In 2010 we made great progress in gaining the community’s help in reducing the number of feral cats living on the streets,” said Carol McNichol, President of Companion Animal Trust. “The low cost spay neuter funding is secured and in place for 2013 so we anticipate repeating the success of the past four years” McNichol said.

Feral cats are free-roaming cats that are untamed and unsuitable for adoption. If left alone, they keep reproducing, creating a crisis on many levels. They can also become a neighborhood nuisance or can prompt well-meaning community members to call animal control to take care of them. However, this just means that the cats are removed and killed, allowing new cats to come in and take over the vacated territory'

In the process of Trap-Neuter-Return the cat is humanely trapped, then transported to a vet where it is spayed or neutered, ear tipped and rabies vaccinated. Then the cat is released back to its original outdoor location and managed by a caregiver.

The benefits of TNR to the community are many:

• A caregiver manages the colony and maintains a clean environment through controlled feeding.